BROTHERS IN ARMS

Part II: Retaliation

By Dino Pollard

{{ …mysterious Brotherhood attacked an abortion clinic… }}

{{ …following reports indicate many dead… }}

{{ …Reverend Stryker hailed as hero… }}

{{ …the Senator from Florida commented… }}

{{ …response to the Brotherhood leads to more anti-mutant groups popping up… }}

{{ …still no comment from the White House or the President on the mutant situation… }}

{{ …rumors are circulating that the Brotherhood is connected in some way to the mysterious Magneto… }}

{{ “We’re th’ Brotherhood of Mutants. So you gits better bloody-well behave.” }}

“Oh, fuck him!”

“Calm down, O,” Jean stated. She looked at Charles. “What does this mean?”

Charles leaned forward in his wheelchair and looked at the large monitor before them. It monitored several news broadcasts at once. And all of them were covering the Brotherhood.”

“It’s what I was afraid of…” he muttered.

“What’s that?” Ali asked.

“Magneto’s become a martyr,” Logan noted. There was a cigar in his hand as he spoke. “He’s got followers out there, now. Followers who are just as crazy as he is.”

“Yeah, but this Brotherhood…” Scott stated. “I mean, we took down Magneto and Sinister. They can’t be that much of a threat.”

“It’s not a matter of power, Scott,” Charles stated. “It’s a matter of influence. If the Brotherhood receives the same amount of exposure Magneto did, we’ll be facing off against another version in a few short months.”

“What are we supposed to do, then?” Hank asked. “We can’t just let innocent people die.”

“I know, Hank,” Charles replied. “Which is why I was about to put in a call to Colonel Fury.”

“That’s just a waste of time,” Jean stated. “We should just go out there and stop them.”

“Not smart, girl,” Logan said. “We need some more intel, first. Y’can’t go running into a situation like this half-cocked. I know none o’ yer are big on procedure – lord knows I’m not. But if y’ just go running into somethin’ blindly, yer just gonna end up doin’ more harm than good.”

“Well, is what they’re doing really so bad?” Ororo asked. Everyone looked at her. “C’mon, think about it. They’ve only been attacking anti-mutant groups so far. What’s wrong with that?”

“Th’ Nazis started off th’ same way,” Logan replied. “We gotta nip this in th’ bud before it becomes an epidemic.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Ali asked.

“Only thing we can do,” Charles replied. “We have to be ready for anything. Logan?”

Logan took a final drag on his cigar. He allowed the smoke to fill his lungs and then expunged what remained. His healing factor instantly repaired any damage the nicotine and tar could cause. He then extinguished it in an ashtray and faced the rest of the X-Men.

“In other words, get yer asses to th’ Danger Room,” he ordered.

“Anyone see th’ papers? We kick ass.”

“Don’t mean a blasted thing, Rogue,” the Toad stated. “We’ve got a job t’do, an’ that job’s not even close t’bein’ done yet.”

“Is this really the way to go about it?” Nightcrawler asked.

“You questioning our leadership, mate?” Toad asked.

“I could never do that,” Nightcrawler replied. “But are we sure about what we’re doing? Will this really help mutants?”

“Don’t start spoon-feeding us that fucking bullshit, Darkholme,” Iceman noted. “Humans have been suppressing mutants for long enough. And frankly, I’m sick of being the bug when I should be the windshield.”

“Well said, lad,” Toad stated. He leapt in front of Nightcrawler. “Keep in mind why you’re here, ya bleedin’ gypsy circus freak. We’re th’ front line, mate. If we don’t stand up t’ these sods, then who will? Evolution created us, but we’ve gotta take it a step further. If you don’t like it, then I’ll kindly introduce your bum t’ the exi–”

Toad was cut-off mid-sentence once the ground shook. He was able to maintain his balance, however, and he looked towards the source of the quake.

“Leave the kid alone, Toynbee,” Avalanche warned. “Or you’ll get to see just how dangerous a man who generates vibrations can be.”

“Is that a threat, Petros?”

“No, it’s a promise. You may think you’re in charge, Toad, but remember that you’re nothing compared to the boss.”

“Don’t. Push. Me,” Toad warned, getting into Avalanche’s face. Once he did so, his tongue flicked out instantly, and smacked Avalanche lightly on the cheek.

“Why must Dominic always engage in these arguments with Toad?” Colossus muttered.

“Don’t ask me, Rasputin – he’s your boyfriend,” Sunspot replied.

“Dom is not my boyfriend,” Colossus stated. “We just have sex occasionally.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Sunspot stated.

“Where’s Marrow, anyway?” Colossus asked.

“Probably in her room, getting off on her bones.”

“Wonderful group I’ve found my way into…”

“If you want, we can easily give you back to your father’s men,” Sunspot noted.

“And I’m sure the tabloids would be overjoyed that the heir of DaCosta International is a mutant terrorist.”

The two stared at each other long and hard. Roberto DaCosta and Piotr Rasputin could be extremely deadly. Both of them knew this. And both of them knew how deadly the other could be. However, they remained still and cautious, content with sizing each other up. Colossus knew that if Sunspot fired a blast of solar energy, he would instantly convert his flesh into organic steel. Sunspot knew that if Colossus swung at him, he would convert to his Sunspot form and vaporize the Russian enforcer’s arm. He wasn’t sure if solar energy could melt organic steel, but he was willing to find out.

“That is quite enough!”

The Brotherhood halted their actions and looked towards the commanding presence which had entered the room. The founder of the Brotherhood. Every single member of the Brotherhood owed their leader in some form or another.

“Boss…” Toad muttered. “I didn’t know you came in.”

“That’s because I’m good, Mortimer,” the founder replied. “You’d do well to remember that. Now, could someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

The members of the Brotherhood all began to speak at one time. Each one had a different take on the tale. Each one wanted their voice heard.

“One at a time!” the founder exclaimed.

“It’s nothing, boss,” Toad stated. “We were just blowin’ off some steam.”

“Not really…” Rogue spoke up. The founder looked towards the young woman, and Toad glared at her from behind. “Toad was pickin’ on Nightcrawler, an’ Avalanche got in his face about it. Then one thing led t’ another an’…”

“Is this true?” the founder asked. Toad kept his eyes fixed on Rogue. Avalanche slowly nodded his head. The founder looked at Nightcrawler, who also nodded.

“But y’don’t understand!” Toad spoke up. “Th’ rugrat was speakin’ out about th’ Brotherhood! He was sayin’ how he didn’t think what we’re doin’ is right!”

“Nightcrawler, wait for me in the annex,” the founder ordered without looking at the young boy. “Now.”

Nightcrawler nodded and vanished in a flash of bright light. The founder continued to stare at Toad.

“You were appointed as field leader of this squad for one reason, Toad. And that is because of all the Brotherhood, you have the most experience. You should know how to handle dissention in the ranks. You do not, I repeat, do NOT, under any circumstances, attack your fellow teammates. Don’t make me regret liberating you from Black Air.”

Toad lowered his head and looked at the ground. A slight smirk grew on Avalanche’s face, and Colossus couldn’t help but smile at that. Then, the founder addressed the rest of the group.

“That goes for the rest of you as well.”

“But what about…”

“I will deal with Nightcrawler, Toad.”

The founder turned to exit the room.

“You’re the Brotherhood of Mutants. So start acting like it.”

The Danger Room

The name is pretty self explanatory. The Danger Room. A room filled with danger. It was the brainchild of Charles Xavier, a way to test the limits of his students and help them to learn more about their powers. When Xavier was appointed the head of Project: X-MEN, Fury and SHIELD were ordered to follow his orders. Which meant taking the land Charles Xavier inherited from his late father and converting it into a full-fledged military compound. While Xavier and Logan went across the country recruiting mutants, SHIELD technicians worked ’round the clock to build several sub-basement levels beneath the mansion. In addition to installing and augmenting the Cerebro unit, the technicians also designed and built the Danger Room.

It’s equipped with the latest in animatronic technologies. Robotic drones, gun turrets, rocket launchers, flame-throwers, and more are utilized to keep the X-Men on their toes and to prepare them for threats they might encounter. The entire room is controlled from a small booth above them, in which Xavier has full access to all the Danger Room systems and programs.

The room itself is about a mile wide in length, height, and width. It gives the X-Men more than enough room to hone their abilities, as well as to use teamwork strategy. From the ground, Wolverine takes command of his team, directing them, spouting orders like a drill sergeant.

“I want this area cleared of civilians!” he shouted. “Psyche! Beast! That’s yer job!”

The ‘civilians’ in this case were drones which were smaller in size and marked with a “C” on their foreheads. The purpose of the exercise was to destroy the threats without harming the civilians. They were caught in the middle of a firefight, and in order to protect them, Psyche erected a telekinetic shield around them from a distance.

“Hank, hurry!” Psyche exclaimed. “I don’t know how long I can keep this up!”

“Only use codenames in th’ field, Psyche!” Wolverine ordered. “That’s th’ reason we gave ’em t’ ya!”

“Copy that, Log-er, Wolverine,” Beast stated. He somersaulted into the fray, dodging past gunfire and explosions. “Get ready to drop the shield once I reach them, Psyche. I don’t want to end up slamming into it by accident.”

“I read you, Beast,” Psyche stated. The entire team was able to keep in contact through the use of headsets.

“Why can’t her power manifest itself in a pink bird or something…?” Beast silently wondered as he fell towards the civilians. Like all psychics, Jean possessed no energy signature for her powers. So Hank McCoy had no way of knowing if the shield was up or not.

“Psyche, I’m coming in, drop the shield,” Beast stated. He received no response. “Psyche, do you copy?”

Nothing still. The ground grew closer. He was beginning to worry.

“PSYCHE!”

Still nothing. He prepared himself to run into an invisible barrier blocking him from the victims. Instead, he fell to the ground behind them. It took the Beast only a moment to overcome his brief shock. He quickly scooped up the two civilians and leapt away.

“Nice save, Beast,” Psyche stated.

“You WERE online!” Beast exclaimed.

“Guilty as charged,” Psyche stated with a grin.

“Bitch…” Beast muttered, placing the civilians someplace safe.

“Cyclops, I want several low-angle blasts from you aimed at th’ turrets,” Wolverine ordered. “Storm, let’s see some o’ that chain lightning you’re supposed t’ have been practicin’. M, stay close t’ Storm an’ provide her back-up from any rockets that might come yer way. Dazzler, it’s up t’ you t’ blind these bastards with a lightshow. Once she does that, Thunderbird an’ I’ll take out the drones up close an’ personal.”

“Quick question,” Thunderbird noted. “If Dazzler’s able to blind those drones, then what’s to stop her lightshow from blinding us, too?”

“‘Member those contact lenses y’ were given?” Wolverine asked. “In response t’ bright lights, they close up, allowin’ only a minimum amount of light through, just enough for you t’ see what’s going on. They also work for th’ opposite, when y’ need night vision.”

“Whoa… cool,” Thunderbird stated.

Dazzler lifted her arms up. Her body acted as a conduit, absorbing all the sound in the immediate area. With the roar of the battle, that was quite a lot of sound. Concentrating, she utilized her mutant ability to convert that sound into a bright and colorful light show. It fried the visual receptors of the drones, but thanks to the contact lenses, the X-Men were left unscathed.

“Thunderbird, go!” Wolverine commanded. He ran forward, adamantium claws extended. He tore into the drones as if they were paper. The metal shredded beneath his claws with ease.

Thunderbird had a bit more trouble with it. His strength was considerable, but pounding steel with fists never got easy. Despite the fact that those fists were covered with leather gloves. He felt a tinge of pain, and knew that his knuckles would be sore later tonight.

“Hey, these contacts work pretty well,” T-Bird noted. “I can see through the lightshow as if it didn’t even exist!”

“That was th’ plan,” Wolverine stated. “They’ve only got one design flaw.”

“What’s that?”

“Y’gotta be wearin’ ’em.”

“Storm to Wolverine, quick question.”

“Shoot,” Wolverine stated.

“Why is it Miss Perfect gets assigned her first initial as a codename, when I’ve gotta go by the corny-ass name of Storm?”

“Th’ first choice was Marvel Girl,” Wolverine stated. “But that’s even cornier, an’ it’s not like M needs another ego-boost.”

“I heard that.”

“Y’were meant to, M.”

Later

“Very impressive,” Charles stated. “Very impressive, indeed. You eliminated the threats and protected the civilians. All in all, I’d say you did a great job.”

The X-Men all stood before Xavier, still in uniform. Each of them held towels. Some wiped the sweat from their brow with them.

“Logan, any thoughts?”

“Y’talk too much,” Wolverine replied. “Ya’ve gotta learn when t’ keep radio silence. An’ remember t’ stick with the codenames. You may not like ’em, but they serve a purpose. Other than that, ya worked as a team an’ accomplished th’ mission parameters. Hit th’ showers, yer done.”

There were sighs of relief as the X-Men walked towards their respective locker rooms.

“Psyche, hold up,” Logan stated. Jean stopped and walked back towards Logan. He turned his head to see Xavier already wheeling out of the room.

“Something wrong, Logan?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Logan replied. “Don’t do that again.”

“Do what again?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, girl. I was listenin’ in t’yer convo with Beast in th’ field,” Logan stated. “He told you t’ drop the shield, an’ you gave no response.”

“Oh that,” Jean stated with a slight giggle. “I was just playing a little joke on him.”

“I know,” Logan stated. “Don’t do it again. There’s a time f’r fun an’ a time f’r work.”

“It was just a training session, and I was just having some fun with him.”

“Don’t matter,” Logan said. “Y’ gotta be able to trust each other. An’ it’s not easy t’do that when yer playin’ jokes like that in the middle of a mission – simulated or otherwise.”

Logan stepped towards the men’s locker room, and Jean simply stood there, watching him.

“We won’t be havin’ this conversation again,” he stated. There was a hint of warning in his voice, an edge to it that he never used when speaking to Jean.

“No… we won’t,” Jean stated. “Sir.”

Washington, DC; 24:00:00

“Sir, this came for you a few moments ago.”

President Bush looked at the package the Secret Service agent held in his hand. Nick Fury stood in the corner, and Henry Peter Gyrich was sitting in one of the chairs in front of Bush’s desk in the Oval Office. Dr. Valerie Cooper sat in the other chair.

“Has it gone through procedure?” Fury asked.

“Yes sir,” the agent replied. “We ran it through several tests. No explosives were found. It’s a videotape. We viewed it and…”

The agent looked at each of the three men and the one woman, then sighed.

“It’s a message from the Brotherhood, sir.”

“Put it on,” Fury ordered. “This is somethin’ we gotta take care of immediately.”

The agent looked at Bush, who nodded in agreement.

“We have to know what we’re up against here,” he stated. “I told the public that we won’t tolerate terrorism. That includes mutant terrorists.”

The agent nodded and placed the tape inside a VCR. The image of Toad surrounded by the Brotherhood came up.

“Greetings, Mr. President,” Toad stated. “I know we’re probably th’ last blokes you wanna see, so I’ll make this brief: we don’t have to be doing this. Us at the Brotherhood would be perfectly willing t’ step back under one condition. An’ that condition is for you to step down as President. We mutants don’t feel we have enough representation in the Republican party. Same goes for the Democrats. And the Green Party. And the Reform party. And whatever bloody party of the week is out there now. So, here’s what I propose.

“We want a mutant President. Someone who understands our plight. Someone who can speak for us. An’ considerin the fact that we’re your replacements, it’d be in your best interests to cooperate. Otherwise, what happened on September 11th will seem like nothing compared to what we can do.”

Bush stiffened slightly at the Toad’s words. The mutant certainly knew how to inspire fear in people. Even Fury and Gyrich felt a bit shaken by Toad’s speech.

“You have twenty-four hours. We’ll be in touch,” Toad stated. He made a kissing face and then, the screen went black.

“This is insanity!” Gyrich exclaimed. “Sir, if this isn’t enough to convince you to activate the Sentinels, then I don’t know what–”

“Enough with the fucking Sentinels already!” Fury shouted. “Th’ only way yer gonna release Gestapo-bots on th’ American public is over my dead body!”

Gyrich gave Fury a face which seemed to say, “doable.” Fury remained as rigid as ever. He wasn’t phased by this bigot, and he wanted to make sure that Gyrich understood that.

“Let’s look at this rationally,” Val interjected. “From what we’ve seen, the Brotherhood is just a group of mutants, right? Well, we’ve got our own group of mutants waiting in the wings.”

“How do we know that they won’t join up with the Brotherhood?!” Gyrich demanded. “Birds of a feather!”

“For the same reason that not every German signed up with th’ Nazis,” Fury stated. “Th’ X-Men are on our payroll. They work for us. They agreed to our terms.”

Gyrich looked at Bush. He had prayed that the leader of the country wouldn’t be sucked in by mutant propaganda.

“You can’t be considering this…” Gyrich stated.

“I’m not,” Bush replied. “I’m authorizing it. Colonel Fury, send in the X-Men. We’re going to deal with this Brotherhood threat once and for all. If you have something constructive to add Mr. Gyrich, then you may stay. Otherwise, please vacate the premises.”

Gyrich was appaled at how he was spoken to. He was in charge of the NSA. He should be treated better than this. He should receive priority. This was a matter of national security, and that was his area of expertise.

Gyrich stormed out of the office. The entire time he was walking, as he was driving back to his office, one thought remained stuck in his head: Bush wouldn’t get away with this.

He pulled out his cellphone and quickly dialed a number.

“It’s Gyrich,” he stated. “Release the M-Squad.”

21:32:59

“Got anymore of that coffee?” Scott asked. Hank handed him the thermos and took a sip from his own cup.

“Thanks,” Scott said, pouring some in his cup. “Goddamn, this is boring.”

“You’re telling me,” Hank noted. “I’d much rather be sitting at home right now.”

“How do we know that the Brotherhood will attack here, anyway?”

“We don’t, but SHIELD intelligence says this is one of the most-likely targets,” Hank explained. “Based on the Brotherhood’s previous attacks, this seems most-likely.”

The phone began to ring. Beast snapped it up.

“Yes?” he asked, turning it on immediately. “What? Are you serious? Okay, we’ll be right there.”

He hung up the phone and started the car up.

“What is it?” Scott asked.

“The Brotherhood’s attacked someplace else.”

Before Hank could begin driving, however, there was an explosion.

Area 51

“Colonel Wraith!”

The bald man turned to face the officer who addressed him. He was a young man, recently transferred to Area 51. He gave Wraith a salute once the colonel faced him. Wraith saluted him back.

“At ease,” Wraith ordered. The soldier relaxed slightly, but still remained stiff in his composure.

“The Commander thought you might want to see this, sir,” the agent stated. He handed Wraith a piece of paper from a manilla folder. Wraith scanned over it quickly and a large grin appeared on his face. He handed the paper back to the agent.

“Burn that,” he ordered. The agent nodded and left the room. Wraith turned to the other men who were seated around the debriefing table. An image was brought up on the main screen. Eight headshots appeared on the screen.

“Wolverine, Cyclops, Psyche, Storm, Beast, Thunderbird, Dazzler, and M,” Wraith stated. “The X-Men. The only smart move Bush has made since he moved in. A mutant strike force is a great idea. The only problem is that he doesn’t keep them on a short enough leash. That’s why I’m here. That’s what Weapon X is for.”

He looked at the assosciates and turned off the monitor.

“I’ve just been informed that the Commander of this particular squad has assembled the best in terms of a mutant strike force.”

“What about the X-Men?” one of the men asked.

“The X-Men are obsolete,” Wraith stated. “Weapon X will serve as their replacements. And I’d like to introduce you gentlemen to our ace in the hole…”

The door opened up and a very large, animal-like man with blonde hair cut in a military style entered the room. His face was fixed in a snarl, and his fangs were plainly visible. His eyes possessed catlike pupils.

“…Victor Creed, Sabretooth,” Wraith finished. “Gyrich is an idiot if he thinks he can fight evolution by eliminating the mutants. More will be born, it’s just a matter of time. The way I see it, why fight evolution when we can control it? That’s the purpose behind Weapon X, my friends – control.”

21:30:47

“Uhh…” Beast muttered, looking up. “What was that?”

Cyclops got out of the car, and looked forward. He saw the cause of the explosion, coming through the flames. It had been months since he had seen them, and he had hoped that perhaps they were over and done with. He was wrong.

“Oh shit…” he muttered.

“What?” Beast asked. He got out of the car as well, and looked in the direction of the flames. He noticed Cyclops lifted a hand to the side of his visor. Beast sighed. Things were going to get a lot harder before they got better.

“The M-Squad…” he muttered.